LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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JFaretoell: 
A SERMON 

Preached on Sunday, April 21st, 1872. 

BY 

C. D. BRADLEE, 

PASTOR OF THE " CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER," BOSTON. 

A SLIGHT SKETCH 

OF THE 

"CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER," 

AND OF ITS HAPPY AND HOLY WORK, FOR EIGHT BLESSED YEARS. 

^rtnteti, not ^ubltsfjctr. 



BOSTON: 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1872. 



r 

JFaretoell: 
A SERMON 

Preached on Sunday, April 21st, 1872. 

BY 

C. D. BRADLEE, 

PASTOR OP THE "CHURCH OP THE REDEEMER," BOSTON. 

i 

A SLIGHT SKETCH 

OP THE 

"CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER," 

AND OP ITS HAPPY AND HOLY WORK, POR EIGHT BLESSED YEARS. 




Printed, not Pufoitsfjeo. 



BOSTON: 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1872. 



♦$«* 



FAREWELL. 



" Finally, Brethren, Farewell." — 2 Cor. xiii. 11. 

The time seems to have arrived when we each ought 
to say to the other, and all of us to our beloved Church, 
that sad, mysterious, yet holy word, Farewell. I am 
glad that we can say it with no harsh feelings, with no 
bitter remembrances, and with no blur nor stain upon the 
eight years 5 pilgrimage we have taken, that should make 
us blush or tremble. We can say it holding each other 
by the hand, with our hearts in blessed harmony, with 
no financial obligation to press us down, and with our 
record clear, bright, beautiful, full of inspiration, and 
full of joy. No church, I think, in Boston, or in Massa- 
chusetts, or anywhere, has been more united, more 
peaceful, more happy, and more like one family, than 
ours. 

We came together as strangers ; but we have lived 
together as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and never 
will there be any relations between us but those of the 
most cordial love and the most holy fellowship. 

I know that I leave this place with your blessing, 
and I am sure that you each and all are joined to me by 
ties that can never really be broken. Why, then, do we 
part? Why must we arise, and go hence? 



This is best answered by a slight sketch of the growth 
of the Church, and by a brief survey of the changes 
that have taken place in this vicinity, since we were 
organized as a Society. In 1864, when we commenced 
our services, the only two independent churches of our 
faith, south of Dover Street, were the South Congress- 
tional Church and the Church of the Unity, both of 
which were quite well filled ; yet by a special census at 
that time there were over one hundred and fifty families 
south of Dover Street that attended no place of relig- 
ious worship. 

These families, too, I believe, were to a great extent 
able to support preaching, and needed only a little en- 
couragement by which they would soon be led to become 
regular worshippers in the temple of our Lord. Many 
did not ask for a Mission Church, but a Home Church, 
where each and all could contribute towards the support 
of the gospel, and where each and all could stand to- 
gether in a close and beautiful union. We endeavored 
in our humble way to meet and greet this want, and, 
as our records will prove, with a success that led us to 
expect a long life and a wide field of usefulness. 

But induced by the great field ail whitening for the 
harvest, in this part of our city, and perhaps too a little 
encouraged by our own growth and life, two other 
churches located immediately in our vicinity, — the 
" Church of the Disciples " and the " New South Free 
Church," with pastors whose good names are in all the 
Churches, and for whom I entertain the deepest respect 
and the most reverent love. Beside these two neigh- 
boring churches all beautifully built, our humble little 



ark, all unpretending, was brought into terrible contrast ; 
and the new-comers drifted where the eye was better 
pleased, and where the shelter was more inviting. 

From our own flock but three families strayed away 
for these more attractive homes, but from that time our 
hopes for added strength were really blasted, unless we 
too could build a splendid house unto the Lord, or re- 
locate where other churches were at a more convenient 
distance. Death came, families moved into the country, 
some went away to the extreme end of the city, until 
the regular parish became greatly impaired, although 
the " strangers within our gates " have helped to en- 
courage our hearts even unto this day; whilst, too, those 
who did remain — and on this list you will find some of 
the prominent citizens of the South End — were ready to 
stay even here, in this undesirable spot, for an indefinite 
future. But it was best, hemmed in as we were by 
other churches, in our unattractive place and our un- 
favorable locality, — it was very much for the best that 
we should stop. 

Some of you tell me, my faithful friends, that you 
will form again, before another winter, where none can 
molest us, or make us afraid ; or that, with your already 
earnest and noble members, you will unite with some 
other church, and take a stand that nothing can shake. 
I am not sure that this would be well. Let us wait God's 
wise and beautiful direction. Let us pause till we hear 
the voice that shall say to us, " Go forward ! " Let us 
rejoice that we have done so much, that we even yet 
remain so strong, and that we have accomplished all 
these things through every discouragement, and in the 



6 



face of every thing that seemed to strive to put us back. 
Let us be glad that for eight years we have done our 
work, made our influence felt, and falsified the predic- 
tions of a few croaking spirits, who, not loving us over- 
much, looked for our speedy • dissolution within six 
months, or a year, from our start. Bring to-day into 
our Church only those who have left us because they 
moved so far away that they could not come any more, 
and a multitude of our well-known business men would 
appear in our sight. The leading founder of our 
Society,* a man widely known for his great benevolence, 
his high moral integrity, and his large financial power, 
left us only when he changed his home, and has given 
us his best wishes ever since. 

Another friend, | deeply interested in our welfare, 
and never leaving us until he moved from the city, 
devoted himself with a beautiful self-sacrifice to the 
growth of our society, and has always felt a deep regard 
for our best well-being. How many might be cited of 
those high in the confidence of the people who have 
stood by our little ark bravely, and who, although not 
of our number now, will never cease to carry us under 
the shelter of their good-will and along the rich valleys 
of their bountiful love. 

I will net call any names, but how many might I 
name, J who once with us, but forced to leave us against 

* P. L. Everett, Esq. fB.W. Gilbert, Esq. 

J J. W. Allen, Esq. ; Samuel Bailey, Esq., deceased; OmarBinney, 
Esq. ; J. R. Campbell, Esq. ; Seth W . Eowle, Esq., deceased ; S. F. 
Gates, Esq. ; Fred Kidder, Esq. ; J. T. Kennard, Esq. ; C. H. W. 
Prentiss, Esq. ; J. K. Porter, Esq. ; C. A. Ricbards, Esq. ; and many 
others. The list is long, and sweet and sacred. 



their will, or for some reason that seemed to them good, 
perhaps present here to-day to listen to our closing 
words, would rise and give us their benediction. Can 
we not then claim a great success ? Eight years' good 
work is no loss. Debts all settled are an honest record, 
and a parish still left who now sorrowfully seek other 
homes, is that in which we take great pride in speaking. 

God bless you all who have stood by me so faithfully 
to the last, not led away by outside splendors, nor 
coaxed by the inexorable demands of fashion, not 
ashamed of our precious sanctuary, and so glad and 
so happy to assemble here week after week. 

I have no word of reproach for such as have been 
afraid, and have run away. I am glad to say that with 
the few seceders, who left because they sought the more 
splendid material adornments, I have held a most cor- 
dial fellowship, whenever it has been my privilege to 
meet them ; but I do say to you all who have loved to 
gather here, asking for no massive organ and no gor- 
geous cathedral, I thank you, I bless you, with the 
deepest and the most earnest gratitude, — nay, I cannot 
help thinking that for that very same modesty, humility, 
patience, and consecration, there will be found added 
rewards in the Kingdom of our Father, and of His 
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

I do not think it right that any minister should 
gauge his success by the numbers that gather round 
his ministrations, nor by the services he is asked to per- 
form, nor by any thing whatsoever of outside approba- 
tion. Our record is with God, and in the hearts of the 
people. Only as we actually build up the Kingdom of 



8 



God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, can we count our 
real success, and that test will only come when we 
arrive within the heavenly gates. Yet, if we should 
boast after the manner of men, our external proofs of 
influence are not small. During the eight years of my 
ministry, there probably has been connected at different 
times with our church, either as permanent hearers, or 
-as occasional listeners, or as those who looked for no 
other ministrations than ours, representatives of not far 
from two hundred families. In which period I have 
joined in marriage* sixty-three couples, or one hundred 
and twenty-six people, have given the rite of baptism 
to one hundred and two persons, have attended one 
hundred and ten funerals, have added to my list of 
communicants seventy-seven names, and have pre- 
sented a certificate of membership in the Sunday 
School to about two hundred and seventy-five, old 
and young. 

For over five years a Prayer Meeting has been held 
in this Church once a week, without any pause ; and 
two Bible Classes have for many years met either at 
my house or in the Church. I have occupied this pul- 
pit nearly all the time, making but very few exchanges, 
and very seldom seen in other pulpits, because I have 
felt that my work was here, and I have thought that 
my best strength should be consecrated in your be- 
half. 

But enough of statistics and personal allusion ; for 

* Since my ordination, Dec. 11, 1854, I have officiated at one 
hundred and two weddings, two hundred and twenty-eight baptisms, 
and one hundred and seventy-eight funerals. 



all such things are offensive to me save as I record 
them for others, and if I have tried to be faithful, or 
have accomplished any thing, it is enough that God 
knows it. Yes, enough : the past is past. The future 
is all before us. I go I know not where, but God 
knows, and that is sufficient; and you will pray for me, 
I am sure, that I may never give up the office of a 
steward of the Lord, that I may always preach the 
gospel of Jesus, that I may find a flock who shall deal 
with me as gently as you have always dealt, and that 
I may at last obtain some humble place of rest in the 
City of our God. But now I must say Farewell, a 
word so hard to utter, yet something that must be 
spoken by each and by all, throughout some part of a 
personal experience, — nay, a word that has been spoken 
for thousands of years, and must be repeated many 
thousands of years more. To your familiar faces, to 
your constant, cordial speech, to your kind hearts and 
to your myriad courtesies, Farewell. To all the inti- 
macies of the household that have been so very pre- 
cious, where heart has responded to heart, where hand 
has clasped hand, where in your joyous seasons I have 
always been welcome, and where in grievous hours I 
have tried to be the comforter ; to your generous tables 
and your liberal bounties and every thing about you 
that has been so genial, inspiring, and beautiful, — Fare- 
well. To the band of children that each Sabbath 
afternoon have met in this Church with their simple 
and earnest faith, to their thrilling hymns, their earnest 
prayers, their pleasant voices, their cheerful manner, 
and their gentlemanly and ladylike and Christian be- 
havior, Farewell. To the Superintendent of the School, 



\ 



10 



his Assistants, and all the Teachers, and the Bible 
Classes, who have been so faithful and so honest, and 
such a holy comfort, Farewell. To the organ and to 
the one who has made it preach in tones so suggestive 
and touching ; to the Choir, and to all in any office in 
those seats of praise ; to him so careful each Sunday that 
all the strangers should be welcome, and so constantly 
looking after my comfort and peace ; to everybody and 
every thing, let there be no omission, — Farewell. But 
why should I utter this sad word ? If my life be 
spared, I hope not to be very far away. Who knows 
but that some of you yet may be where I am, and 
again call me, in some other place, pastor and friend ? 
Neither shall I go so far away but that I shall hear 
from you continually ; and of course I shall at once 
establish a spiritual telegraph between your hearts and 
my heart, and I know that the messages that will pass 
to and fro continually will ever be loving, gentle, true, 
and holy, whilst the alphabet in which they shall be 
written shall be known only to you and to me. 

Yet why should I not say fare-well ? Certainly I 
wish that no one should fare ill ; least of all would 
I wish harm to you my patient hearers, my generous 
friends, my noble parishioners, and my eight years' 
weekly companions. May good fortune always be 
your lot ! Propitious may the heavens ever prove in 
your behalf, and fruitful the earth ! May your homes 
be full of joy, your business full of success, your bodies 
full of health, and your minds full of good thought; 
but above all, more than all, comprehending all, may 
your hearts be full of grace. Or if, to fare well, you 
must pass through seeming ills, greet rough tides, and 



11 



be panoplied by many disasters, may you be so brave, 
so patient, so pure, and so thoroughly resigned and 
trustful, that all your clouds shall have a silver lining ; 
then will all your cares and pains be really but blessings 
in disguise. 

At last, dear parishioners, in heaven may you fare 
well, when the countenance shall change, and the body 
become marble, and time be closed : then may it be all 
bright and beautiful. May God give you at last a 
ready welcome, a glorious pardon, and His consoling 
and uplifting, "Well done." May the Master be able to 
say, These are my disciples. May your mansion be all 
ready, your robe prepared, your crown glittering, your 
harp tuned, your celestial work at hand, and right be- 
fore you a joyous welcome from the saints who now 
await your coming. 

Farewell ! Oh, what, a word that is which all are 
speaking ! The traveller says it as he leaves his home 
that he may visit distant lands. The maiden says it 
as she enters into marriage. The young man says it as 
he goes to a strange place to make what he calls a liv- 
ing. We all say it, as we part from each other, at any 
time, or for whatever cause. 

It is said, too, — ah ! each of us has said it, — when 
we bend over the cold frames of our dearest, wiping the 
moist brow and closing the glazed eyes, or it will be 
said as we ourselves sink to sleep for the last time on 
the mortal side. Yes : we have all said those words, 
" Good-by," which is " God be with you," " Adieu," 
w T hich is, " I commit you to God," and " Farewell," 
which is, "May all good fortune be yours." We have 



12 



all thus spoken, else life would not be completed, nor 
the soul truly ripened. But will you not, as I go 
away, — ah ! I know full well you will, — bid me farewell ? 
Oh, give me your best prayers, and still keep me in a 
choice corner of your hearts ! The Apostle Paul's con- 
stant exclamation, you know, was imbedded in those 
words, or others like them, " Brethren, pray for us." 
So would I get strength at your hands, by your pre- 
vailing intercession. 

But I have said enough. Words are weak at such 
times as these. The heart is too full for a perfect ex- 
pression. God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, bless 
you one and all ever and for ever, and may the blessed 
Holy Spirit abide with you in all coming days. As I 
part from you now, I would use the good words of 
Bonar as a prayer for myself ; and may you each make 
the utterance a petition for your own hearts ! 

" Thy way, not mine, Lord, 

However dark it be ! 
Lead me by Thine own hand, 

Choose out the path for me. 

" Smooth let it be or rough, 

It would be still the best : 
Winding or straight it matters not, 

It leads me to Thy rest. 

" I dare not choose my lot ; 

I would not, if I might ; 
Choose Thou for me, my God, 

So shall I walk aright. 

" Not mine, not mine, the choice, 

In things or great or small ; 
Be Thou my guide, my strength, 

My wisdom, and my all." 



APPENDIX. 



The following Hymn, written by Charles William Butler (and 
read by Miss Ella Collamore), was prepared for the Eighth 
Sunday School Floral Anniversary, in the afternoon of April 21. 

To C. D. Bradlee. By C. W. Butler. 

O Pastor, shepherd of this flock, 

Peace rest with thee, where'er thou art ! 

Rest thou, with us, upon that Rock 
Whereon reclines the human heart. 

That rock is Love Divine, the true, 

Sprinkled with Heaven's Baptismal Dew ! 

We a small moment now may part ; 

Yet call not this a farewell hour : 
The true in soul, the true in heart, 

Are kept by friendship's holy power. 
O Pastor, shepherd of this flock, 
We rest on that Eternal Rock ! 



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